Known as CREATE (Collaborative for REsearch to Advance TMD Evidence), this $17M grant supports a five-year initiative that aims to collect deep biological, neurological, and clinical data from more than 1,000 patients suffering from temporo-mandibular disorders (TMD), while also obtaining the knowledge on how to better treat TMD. Alejandro Almarza, PhD, a Pitt Dental Medicine professor of oral and craniofacial sciences, serves as the project director and contact principal investigator alongside Dr. Michael Gold from Pitt School of Medicine.
The project operates as a nationwide network, coordinating clinical studies across five distinct research sites including the University of Florida, University at Buffalo, UTHealth Houston, and Texas A&M University.
Backed by this and other multi-million dollar awards (such as a $5.9M grant from the NIH HEAL Initiative), Dr. Almarza’s expanding pain program continues to cement Pitt Dental Medicine’s status as a powerhouse within the elite tiers of annual NIDCR institutional funding.